Lex Fridman Podcast - #250 – Peter Wang: Python and the Source Code of Humans, Computers, and Reality

Peter Wang is the co-founder & CEO of Anaconda and one of the most impactful leaders and developers in the Python community. Also, he is a physicist and philosopher. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Peter’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/pwang
Anaconda’s Website: https://www.anaconda.com/
Books & resources mentioned:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (book): https://amzn.to/3EnCELK
Lila (book): https://amzn.to/30VKIpE

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
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– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
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– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(06:49) – Python
(10:20) – Programming language design
(30:22) – Virtuality
(40:22) – Human layers
(47:21) – Life
(52:45) – Origin of ideas
(55:17) – Eric Weinstein
(1:00:16) – Human source code
(1:04:13) – Love
(1:18:32) – AI
(1:31:55) – Meaning crisis
(1:54:28) – Travis Oliphant
(2:00:53) – Python continued
(2:30:36) – Best setup
(2:37:54) – Advice for the youth
(2:46:28) – Meaning of Life

Consider This from NPR - Manchin’s Holiday Gift To Fellow Dems: A Lump Of Coal On Climate Change

This week, Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he cannot support the Build Back Better Act, which contains more than half a trillion dollars in climate investments. The White House has been negotiating with Manchin for months, hoping he would cast a key vote for the plan in the Senate, where their party's majority is razor thin.

Without Manchin's support, the Biden administration's most ambitious action on climate may be dead, and the U.S. could fall short of key goals to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Reporters from NPR's climate change team — Jeff Brady, Lauren Sommer, and Dan Charles — take stock of where things go from here.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden also contributed to this episode. Read her piece Manchin says Build Back Better's climate measures are risky. That's not true.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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Science In Action - Omicron – mild or monster?

Studies from South Africa and the UK suggest Omicron may be a mild infection for the majority of people. Hospital admissions are down when compared with other variants. However, the virus is replicating at a much faster rate than earlier variants and is able to overcome vaccines to some extent. Cases studies so far have mainly been in young people. There is concern over what will now happen as Omicron spreads across Europe and the US where there are older unvaccinated populations. Anne von Gottberg from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases tells us what early results from studies there show and discusses the implications.

Typhoon Rai in the Philippines led to the loss of many lives and even destroyed buildings designed to resist such extreme weather events. Could more have been done either to predict the ferocity of the typhoon or to prepare for its impact? Liz Stephens, Associate Professor in Climate Risks and Resilience from the University of Reading discusses these issues.

Beavers are making a comeback – in the Arctic. Their activity in engineering the landscape, building dams, and changing water courses is so widespread it can be picked out by satellites. However, this is not entirely welcome says Helen Wheeler Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Anglia Ruskin University. who has been working with local people concerned about the beavers impact on their livelihoods.

And the James Webb telescope is finally launching. Heidi Hammel, who has been involved in the project for over 20 years tells us what it’s all about.

(Image: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Listener Mail: Creepy Dolls, Tornado Cash, and Sears in the Arms Trade

Tall Pockets hips the guys to a creepy doll named My Friend Cayla. Trusty Otter explores the potential dangers of Tornado Cash. Dark Sky asks for more information about that time Sears got involved in the global arms trade. All this and more in this week's listener mail.

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They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

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The Commentary Magazine Podcast - The Eschatology of Covid

In Joe Biden’s interview with ABC News, the president sought absolution for his failure to anticipate another surge of Covid. That suggests the elite consensus around this virus really did believe their were behavioral rites that would ward off the disease, and, as a corollary, that contracting the disease is a personal failure.

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Honestly with Bari Weiss - Replay: The Real Story of “The Central Park Karen”

Over the next few days we are going to be replaying some listener favorites from the last year, starting with what was without a doubt our most provocative and popular episode: a re-examination of the Central Park Karen.


Amy Cooper was not the internet’s first “Karen” — the pejorative used for a demanding, entitled white woman. But as the Central Park dog walker who went viral for calling the police on a black birdwatcher last year, she quickly became the paragon of the archetype.


Within 24 hours, Amy Cooper had been doxxed, fired from her job, and surrendered her dog. She wound up fleeing the country. She hasn’t spoken publicly since last summer. Until now. 


In a wide-ranging interview with Kmele Foster, friend of Honestly and co-host of The Fifth Column, we revisit the story of what happened in the park that day. We show what the media intentionally left out of the story. And we examine the cost of mob justice.

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CBS News Roundup - World News Roundup: 12/23

Signs of hope in the fight against the omicron variant. The Supreme Court will weigh in on vaccine mandates. A Pennsylvania congresswoman -- carjacked. Correspondent Peter King has the CBS World News Roundup for Thursday, December 23, 2021:

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